Then, the coach went into Bill Belichick mode in discussing the circumstances Taylor faces after having to accept a $10 million pay cut to remain with the Bills and needing to demonstrate they don't need to look elsewhere for a franchise quarterback after this season.

Asked what Taylor had to prove to him this season, McDermott answered bluntly.

"Go out and do his job," the coach said. "Be one-eleventh. We use that term 'one-eleventh,' and it's another way of saying, 'Do your job. Be one-eleventh of the offense.' And that's what I expect, that's what I expect him to do, that's what I expect of myself, that's what I expect of every player.

"Do your job."

McDermott said there are three phases he has followed in determining Taylor's readiness to start Sunday.

"When you get cleared from concussion protocol, that's the first step, an indication to me of where he is from the medical standpoint," the coach said. "Then, it's the dialogue, 'Hey, you're feeling good,' from a human standpoint, that interaction. And then, as a player, you go out and watch him execute and certainly we'll continue to do that and to this point, he's done a good job of that."

Vic Carucci – Vic Carucci covers the Bills and NFL for The News. With four decades of experience as a pro football writer and broadcaster, he is a co-host on SiriusXM NFL Radio and a Pro Football Hall of Fame selector. Vic has authored 10 books about the football (including multiple New York Times best-sellers) and is a past president of the Professional Football Writers of America.